Rapid development of technology and unique characteristics of the creative society require a shift from traditional teaching concepts to student centered learning in education. One of the methods to provide this change is creating teaching environments enriched by Internet. Blog (weblog) service offered to learners and teachers through Internet…

A discussion about how instructors can host a hospitable online learning environment can address one of the fundamental philosophical and theological concerns frequently expressed about online learning--the loss of face-to-face interaction and, with it, the loss of community building (cf. Delamarter 2005, 138). This perceived link between physical…

Although there are many differences among the nations and cultures of the world, there are also many attributes, beliefs, and aspirations that are common to the world's peoples. Teachers can help their students gain perspective by using the Internet to implement a program for "pen pals"--or paired classrooms and partner schools. The…

The availability of new technology and a willingness to experiment led Laura Christine Rochette to re-imagine a successful high school English curriculum. A SMART Board, individual laptop computers, and blogs became essential tools to enhance the learning of all students and to renew her excitement about teaching.

Argumentation can be defined at different levels and serve different purposes, but its role in knowledge understanding and construction has given it a central place in education, particularly at tertiary level. The advent of computer-supported text-based conferences has created new sites where such educational dialogues can take place, but the…

This study examined the influence of group structures upon six groups of distributed graduate students as they pursued a six-week problem-based learning activity by communicating in an asynchronous computer conference. Henri and Rigault's (1996) content analysis framework and Howell-Richardson and Mellar's (1996) guidelines for interconnectedness…

A constructivist approach to teaching encourages students to seek answers for themselves, while the instructor acts as a guide and facilitator as students pursue information gathering and knowledge construction. In a large class, it is difficult to use a constructivist model of education simply because of the number of students involved. This…

This paper reports on the students' experiments of using blogs to encourage themselves to do pre-class reading assignment and reflections after class. The sample in the study included five ESL (English as a Second Language) graduate students in a course of teaching methods, and 90 software engineering students in an undergraduate information…

Research findings in recent years provide compelling evidence of the importance of encouraging student control over the learning process as a whole. The socially based tools and technologies of the Web 2.0 movement are capable of supporting informal conversation, reflexive dialogue and collaborative content generation, enabling access to a wide…

Virtual schooling, or the practice of offering K-12 courses via distance technologies, has rapidly increased in popularity since its beginning in 1994. Although effective interaction with and support for students in these environments requires a unique set of skills and experiences, teacher education programs rarely include teaching and…

Web 2.0 communication tools have considerable promise for supporting collaborative learning. But there is a need for research examining learners' and teachers' experiences of the newer communication tools, such as wikis, in comparison with well-established tools, such as discussion forums. This paper reports on an initiative where distance…

Formal learning usually takes place in a physical classroom. An extension of learning process may continue to occur in a conventional setting where learners get together physically after class hours. In other words, learning may take place within particular zones. Vygotsky's idea of zone of proximal development (ZPD) suggests that learning may not…

The demand for online courses is growing. This paper offers suggestions on how to teach online courses that promote student engagement and learning. We discuss the benefits and challenges of teaching online. We share research-based strategies for designing an online course and draw upon our experience of developing fully online sociology courses.…

The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) the relationship between critical thinking skills (CTS) and critical thinking dispositions (CTD), and (2) the effectiveness of different levels of instructional strategy (asynchronous online discussions (AODs), CTS instruction via AODs, and CTS instruction with CTD cultivation via AODs) in improving…

In the past decade, providing language instruction via computer-mediated communication (CMC) has seen tremendous growth throughout the world. With this increase in asynchronous instruction have come questions concerning the role of the instructor as it determines the quality and impact of learning and of what optimal faculty development might…